We welcome additional questions from our
clients and site visitors and will provide answers that are relevant to a
broad range of circumstances. For specific situations please CONTACT us directly via email or phone. Scroll down to view the answers.
What is Interior Staging?
Interior Staging is the art of preparing a
home for sale by maximizing its appeal to the broadest range of
potential buyers and creating immediate interest for purchase.
As
most people naturally strive to personalize their homes with meaningful
decorations, artifacts and specific aesthetic tastes or styles, Interior
Staging on the other hand, aims at creating an impersonalized space that
would make it possible for others to imagine themselves living there
and making it their own. Some of the actions necessary for achieving
this goal include the use of neutral colors and de-cluttering living
spaces. When possible, the owner’s own furniture and accessories are
rearranged for greater advantage and impact. On occasion, however, these
types of items are brought in on a temporary basis to maximize the
marketability of the home.
A home seller would greatly benefit
from accepting that they must “let go” of their own personal taste in
interior decoration in return for the creation of a neutral, warm and
welcoming interior style that appeals to others, a practice that could
bring a higher profit and the possibility for a speedy sale of the
property. Professional staging is undoubtedly the best strategy for
achieving this goal.
What is the difference between Interior Staging and Interior Design?
While Interior Staging and Interior Design
have a similar grounding in basic design principles, their outcome
effects are quite different. Interior Design is the decoration of spaces
and arrangement of furniture and objects in a home to enhance its
function, aesthetics and efficiency and to reflect the tastes of those
occupying it. It is used for living in! Interior Staging is the opposite. It
requires neutralized spaces absent of a particular theme or style. Interior
Staging is designed for selling!
What is the return on my investment? / Why should I stage my home?
You don’t get a second chance to
make a first impression! Your home is your greatest asset. To receive
maximum profit for its value you want to present it in its best possible
condition when putting it on the market. Additionally, with so many
homes currently for sale, your best option for a maximum price offer and
quick sale is to set yourself apart from your competition.
All houses eventually sell; it’s a matter of when and for what price.
INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS has the skills and the experience necessary to
stage your home in a way that reflects its best features and value.
Remember, professionally staged homes sell on a conservative average for
6%+ more.
Furthermore, your investment in staging will
greatly outweigh the cost difference between your listing price and the
drop in price for your property, you will be advised to take, if it does
not sell quickly. The cost of Interior Staging is often less than the first
price reduction on an un-staged home.
I am on a tight budget, what would an Interior Staging cost me?
No two homes are alike, since properties
differ by size and condition, fees for preparing them for sale can only
be figured after their evaluation is complete. The fees INVISION DESIGN
PARTNERS charge are associated with the list price of the home but
depend on its condition and the amount of work required for staging it
for sale.
Please contact us to discuss your special
circumstance and needs so that we may quote a fee that is applicable to
your situation. Remember, the return on your staging investment is very
likely to outweigh its cost.
I watch all the HGTV shows, so why can't I do the staging myself?
While emotionally attached to their homes
and to the way they live in them, most sellers lack the tools necessary
for successful evaluation and staging of their property. This is often
because it is difficult for owners to be objective when deciding what to
do for preparation. INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS will use an unbiased,
objective eye when evaluating your property and will provide you with a
perspective closely matched with that of future buyers. We will be
respectful of your aesthetic taste and decorating style, but at the same
time provide constructive and positive suggestions inline with the goal
of higher profit and speed of property sale.
Most of our
clients realize the profound impact of proper staging on the sale of
their property only after it is transformed and attracts new buyers. In
addition, the HGTV shows do not accurately portray the Interior Staging
process as they often work within unrealistic budgets and time
constrains.
I don't want to invest more money in a home I'm selling and my house looks good already. Why can't the buyer use their imagination (to see the real value of my property)?
Even a
tastefully designed home needs staging. Only a small percentage of
homebuyers can actually visualize the possibility of a home becoming
their own. Most potential buyers have trouble seeing beyond a
homeowner's personal items and aesthetic taste due to multiple
distractions, all of which may be avoided with the help of a
professional interior staging service such as that of INVISION DESIGN
PARTNERS. With this in mind, it is important for the homeowner to market
their home to appeal to as many people as possible.
In
addition, expenses such as painting your home, may be the biggest
improvement a home owner can make for the smallest amount of money,
particularly if the current colors are strong or overly bright, and even
more so if they are stark white. Creating a neutral palette is another
step in making your home appealing.
Remember that homes do
stand out if they are most updated, and in their best condition. Not
updating your home can make the difference between your house selling in
30 days or 6 months. We can help you prioritize what might need to be
changed, and provide cost effective options to meet your budget as part
of the Evaluation and Staging process.
What staging options are available as part of the service?
INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS offers several options to accommodate home seller’s budget and needs:
Staging Evaluation: (approximately 3-4 hours) Recommended for owners of
occupied homes that are willing to do the necessary work by themselves.
A detailed report of enhancements and change recommendations for
preparing the home for sale is given to the owner at the end of the
evaluation process.
Shared Staging Services: Recommended for
homeowners with clear preference for caring for specific staging
necessities (such as cleaning or removing clutter), but with an interest
for help in coordinating other actions deemed critical for successful
staging. A detailed report is given to the owner at the end of the
evaluation process followed by an agreement on the work to be performed
by INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS to accomplish the staging goals.
Full Staging Services: Recommended for homeowners wishing for total work
management by INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS using the help of alliance
trades. A detailed report is given to the owner at the end of the
evaluation process followed by an agreement on work process and cost.
Every effort will be made to accommodate the needs of the owner and
with respect to timeframe and budgets for staging completion.
My real estate agent instructed me on how to prepare my home for sale...isn't that enough?
A realtors’ primary function is to find a
buyer for your property, not to prepare it for sale. Although his/her
advise is well meaning and often includes suggestions for de-cluttering
and cleaning, it is unlikely to include a professional staging
consultation for the purpose of a speedy sale and for achieving the
highest possible profits for you, the property owner.
Your
agent knows that it’s not easy to prepare a home for best selling
condition without some type of experienced assistance. This is where
INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS can help, as our staging expertise compliments
the homeowner and Realtor’s goals for selling the property. These
services without a doubt contribute to a win-win result for all parties
involved.
What are the staging steps?
After an initial phone conversation with
you to determine your needs, INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS proceeds with an
objective look at your house. We tour the property inside and out, and
make a written evaluation containing detailed suggestions on those items
that require improvement or enhancement. Following completion of our
evaluation, we discuss timeline, budget, and priorities with you and
come to agreement on the work ahead.
We provide several
options with regards to staging and work with you to determine the path
forward most accommodating of your needs (see also “What staging options
are available as part of the service?” in this FAQ page).
Our first staging phase is to de-clutter, de-personalize and clean, in
some cases, repair or fresh paint may also be required at this time.
This work may be accomplished by the homeowner, our recommended
alliances or by vendors of your choice. We will assist you make
decisions for these services including consultation on paint colors
where needed.
Next, we begin transforming your home by
re-arranging or redesigning its rooms. We use your current furniture and
accessories but occasionally enhance them with missing pieces or décor
as necessary. We purchase these additional items for you and recommend
rental alliances when appropriate. Our process transforms your home into
a state of “readiness” for sale in a very short period of time.
Minor tweaks to the staged home can also be performed prior to its
scheduled Open House to ensure it is in the best possible shape for the
showing.
Photos of the property are taken before and after
the staging process to show your “buyers’ ready home” in all its glory
on your real estate agent’s website.
How long does a staging job take?
No two jobs are alike and the time
required for staging can vary depending on the home’s size, the number
of rooms to be staged and the amount of work to be done. An average
staging job takes about 2 to 3 days to complete. If other trades such as
painters, electricians or landscapers are involved, the job will likely
take longer.
What guaranties do I get for using staging services?
We can't guarantee that your home will
sell within a week, but we will do our utmost to advise you on what
needs to be done to transform your property into the best possible
product for sale, thus drastically increase the possibility potential
buyers will want to purchase it.
Our home has been on the market for some time but is not selling, should we reduce the price or stage it?
The best time to stage a home is before
it is shown to the public. But, if you have already listed and shown it
and are experiencing little or no interest, by all means stage it BEFORE
you take any price reductions!
The cost of staging a home is
typically less than its first price reduction. There have been
instances where homes were on the market for months without any purchase
offers, then received offers within days following staging. It's not
too late to call INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS for an evaluation and
consultation. We can help organize a strategy to get your house sold
quickly!
Can a vacant home be staged?
Staging vacant properties is extremely
important because most buyers aren’t able to envision vacant homes as
furnished spaces, particularly with their own belongings and
accessories. Furniture contributes to a frame of reference and emotional
appeal. Absence of furniture, on the other hand, helps emphasize
negative aspects of the property such as odd-shaped rooms, lack of
architectural details or inadequate size. Furthermore, empty spaces tend
to radiate cold and uninviting feelings.
In contrast, Interior Staging brings warm feeling and emphasizes inviting atmosphere – both
crucial necessities for buyers to imagine themselves living there and
both critical enhancers for buyers purchase decision.
The
staging services INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS offer range from showcasing
vignettes (small scenes set in a room), to full indoor and outdoor house
staging. We will bring in furniture and accessories to the vacant
property, as rented, purchased, or provided by the owner, or a combination of those options.
What are the NCIDQ and the NCIDQ Certificate?
The National Council for Interior Design
Qualification (NCIDQ) core purpose is to protect the health, life safety
and welfare of the public by setting standards of competence in the
practice of Interior Design.
The NCIDQ administers a
professional competency exam for Interior Designers. All U.S. states and
Canadian provinces that regulate the profession recognize the NCIDQ
Exam. Exam candidates who meet NCIDQ's eligibility requirements and pass
all exam sections are awarded the NCIDQ Certificate. This certification
is accepted by states and provinces requiring licensing as proof of
competency in the field of Interior Design. In order to qualify to sit
for this exam a combination of requirements is necessary. These consist
of a degree in Interior Design from an accredited school of higher
education and a number of years in the actual practice of Interior
Design.
Naomi Harel, principal at INVISION DESIGN PARTNERS, LLC holds the NCIDQ Certificate # 4954.
What is the difference between the NCIDQ Certification and the other "accredited" or "certified" qualifications I see on designers or stagers cards and websites?
The NCIDQ is the only regulated certification for Interior Designers in North America. All the other initials claiming "certification" or "accreditation" that designers and home stagers advertise are awarded by companies who provide 2-3 day "training" sessions, and have no methods for measuring the competencies of their "graduates".
